Two lawmakers on Tuesday expressed serious concern in parliament over the China’s erecting dam on Brahmaputra for hydropower generation and demanded that the government take immediate measures to avoid negative impact on country’s environment due to the dam.
Lawmakers from Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, a partner in the ruling coalition and Abul Kamal Azad, chief of Bangladesh Nationalist Front demanded that the Water Resources Minister comes up with an in-depth and clear statement in parliament on this issue. “We don’t know how much concern the government is due to the China’s hydropower project on the River Brahmaputra. Experts say the dam would cause serious ecological impact on Bangladesh as Brahmaputra is our biggest water source,” Badal said while talking on a point of order.
“All our rivers and other water bodies originated from Brahmaputra will die if China does not stop erecting dam of this river,” he added.
Badal also said India has already expressed their concern to Chinese government regarding the dam.
Badal went on: “We want to know about the government’s stance to this end and what research it has done about the impact of the dam.”
Supporting Badal, Abul Kamal Azad also raised the issue talking on a point of order.
The first generating unit of the 9.6 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) Zangmu Hydropower Station, which stands more than 3,300 metres above sea level, went into operation on Sunday, China’s official Xinhua news agency said.
The dam on the Yarlung Zangbo river — known as the Brahmaputra in India, where it is a major waterway — will be 116 metres (381 feet) high when completed next year, according to reports.
It will have a total generating capacity of 510,000 kilowatts, Xinhua said, making it the largest dam ever built on the Tibetan plateau.
India has previously expressed concern about damming the Brahmaputra, one of the largest Himalayan rivers and a lifeline to some of India’s remote, farm-dependent northeastern states. – Staff Reporter
